Yankees Notes: Sanchez, Catchers, Pitching, Posada

Yankees GM Brian Cashman spoke to reporters while at a charity function earlier today, and Marc Carig of The Star Ledger provided a recap. Here are the highlights…

The Yankees were aware that Jonathan Sanchez was on the trade block, but Cashman said the team did not have discussions about acquiring him. The Giants traded Sanchez to the Royals for former Yankee Melky Cabrera earlier this week.

Clubs have already inquired about the Yankees' young catchers, such as Jesus Montero, Austin Romine, and Francisco Cervelli. "I've had a lot of teams express 'Hey, if you're ever going to do something there, mark us down,' that type of things," said Cashman.

Cashman said it's too early to know if the best pitching options are available via trade or free agency. "I haven't talked to every team and I haven't talked to every agent yet," said the GM. "And I certainly haven't had any agent tell me what they want financially. So, no one's made any demands to me, no one's made me an offer, so I don't know what these current free agents are looking for yet in terms of years and dollars."

The Yankees have requested the medical information for some players, which Cashman said is standard procedure.

Cashman has not had any talks with Jorge Posada or Eric Chavez yet, and he doesn't know if either will continue playing or retire. Posada told Carig that he's undecided about playing in 2012, but he's resigned to the fact that it would not be with the Yankees. He believes he can still serve as a backup catcher and DH, and he told Newsday's Erik Boland that he's been contacted by five or six teams (allTwitterlinks).

Posada's wife hinted that the Marlins could be a fit, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter). "We live in Miami, so… We love Miami. Nice transition," she said.

The Yankees have the flexibility to stretch the budget, if needed. "There's no set number where you can't exceed it that obviously exists in other environments," said Cashman.

The team has a ton of scouts in the Dominican Republic this week, and they are there to see more players than just Yoenis Cespedes.